New York Red Bulls GM Jérôme de Bontin has come around on the idea of an MLS expansion team in Queens.

Hired in October, the Frenchman initially expressed doubts that two top-tier soccer clubs could co-exist in the region.

“At times, (MLS) fails to learn from its mistakes and is maybe misguided,” he told Fox Soccer last month. “Competition is good. Over time, a second team in New York would be a good thing. But today, it’s probably premature. I wonder if the market is mature.”

De Bontin cited Chivas USA’s struggles in Los Angeles as a sign that the interest in pro soccer wasn’t yet high enough to sustain two teams in one city. The Red Bulls drew an announced average crowd during the 2012 regular season of 18,281, ranked ninth in the league. The club, based in Harrison, N.J., parted ways with its head of business operations, Chris Heck, over the summer then dismissed former GM Erik Solér two months ago.

MLS commissioner Don Garber, who has been pushing relentlessly for a New York City club (based in Queens), didn’t agree with De Bontin’s assessment.

“We believe that a second team in New York will help create an opportunity to break through the clutter in this market,” Garber said. “I know (Red Bull director of global soccer Gérard Houllier) very much believes that rivalries are a real driver of fan passion and marketing success. ... So I’m not at all concerned with Jérôme’s point of view. I think it’s just part of being new (to MLS). We have the full support of Red Bull ownership and we’ve had it for many years.”

Speaking to Bloomberg TV on Monday, De Bontin changed his tune.

“Every time a new professional soccer club opens in America, I have to rejoice and I have to be happy. Clearly there’s enough space in New York for two or three teams,” he said. “Everyone at the league is supportive of that idea. We as shareholders of the league join all our colleagues in saying it would be terrific to have the competition in New York."

De Bontin said the Red Bulls will work to embrace “all aspects of the soccer community” to increase the club’s own fan base and prepare for the league’s expansion into Queens, where MLS hopes to have a stadium up and running in 2016.

"If it does come in three years away, I think it does give us at Red Bull plenty of time to do our work,” De Bontin told Bloomberg. “If I do a good job, by the time we land in three years a new team in New York, I think we’ll be ready for the competition."

Last week, MLS staged a town hall in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, near the site of the proposed stadium, to rally support for the project. Garber told the crowd that the 25,000-seat facility would be privately financed and would generate 2,100 jobs and $60 million in annual economic activity. MLS has pledged to replace the parkland occupied by the stadium and to renovate nearby soccer fields.